Pallet puller for heavy equipment

ABSTRACT

A structure is disclosed for quickly unloading trucks of heavy equipment and their support pallets. The structure comprises two composite beams formed of iron, integrally joined, and extending at about 135* with respect to one another. At the places where the beams meet, there is a relatively large roller which sets on the floor of the truck and permits the entire structure to move over the floor or platform. The horizontal beam is formed in two spaced arms or fork members formed of U-shaped iron and spanned by a metal plate, the members being adapted to be inserted into the usual slot in the sides or end of the pallet. Each horizontal arm is provided with three or more upstanding teeth portions secured within the legs of the U-shaped members and project a short distance above the upper edge of each member. When the equipment is loaded on top of the teeth by inserting the fork members into the pallet slots, a chain is connected to the uppermost end of the angularly extending beam and is attached to a simple and inexpensive pulling machine. A pull in the forward direction causes the angularly extending arm to move downwardly slightly as well as forwardly to cause the teeth to press into the bottom surface of the pallet at the slot and thus hold the equipment steady. The pallet and its load can then be pulled out of the truck by the machine mentioned and deposited at any desired position.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Andres Aguilar;

Geraldj l. Gerke, both of Boonville, Mo.

[21] Appl. No. 16,511

[22] Filed Mar. 4, 1970 [45] Patented Nov. 2, 1971 [73] Assignee TheUnited States of America as represented by the Secretary of the AirForce [54] PALLET PULLER FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 214/372, 214/506, 214/384 [51] Int. Cl B60p l/04 [50] Fieldof Search 214/370,

372, 506, 750, 384; 280/4724, 47.3, 43.12; 254/3 R, 3B,3C,8R,8B,8C

Primary Examiner- Albert J. Makay Attorneys-l-larry A. Herbert, Jr. andHerbert H. Brown ABSTRACT: A structure is disclosed for quicklyunloading trucks of heavy equipment and their support pallets. Thestructure comprises two composite beams formed of iron, integrallyjoined, and extending at about 135 with respect to one another. At theplaces where the beams meet, there is a relatively large roller whichsets on the floor of the truck and permits the entire structure to moveover the floor or platform. The horizontal beam is formed in two spacedarms or fork members formed of U-shaped iron and spanned by a metalplate, the members being adapted to be inserted into the usual slot inthe sides or end of the pallet. Each horizontal arm is provided withthree or more upstanding teeth portions secured within the legs of theU-shaped members and project a short distance above the upper edge ofeach member. When the equipment is loaded on top of the teeth byinserting the fork members into the pallet slots, a chain is connectedto the uppermost end of the angularly extending beam and is attached toa simple and inexpensive pulling machine. A pull in the forwarddirection causes the angularly extending arm to move downwardly slightlyas well as forwardly to cause the teeth to press into the bottom surfaceof the pallet at the slot and thus hold the equipment steady. The palletand its load can then be pulled out of the truck by the machinementioned and deposited at any desired position.

PATENTEDHuv 2 ml SHEET 2 BF 2 PALLET PULLER FOR HEAVY EQUIPMENTBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The problem of moving heavy equipment out ofa backedup truck onto a warehouse platform is serious. Some of theunloading difficulties are that the trucks are relatively narrow andlong, also the carton units are snugly positioned against one another toconserve space. This situation makes it difficult to maneuver a forkliftmachine within the confined space. Besides, a machine of this characteris not only expensive on account of the fork elevator equipment but, inaddition, in bringing the load out of the truck, the operator hasnecessarily to run the machine backward which could be dangerous. Thisbackward movement also applies to the hand-operated hydraulic jack whichhas been used for this purpose and in addition, is also not readilymaneuverable in the limited space of the truck. The trucks, particularlythose containing military equipment, are always on a tight schedule andthe equipment must be moved quickly so as to release the truck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide aninexpensive but highly efi'ective lifting and moving structure forpalletized equipment and in which slots are provided in the pallet toreceive a pronged portion of the structure.

Another object is to provide an improved lifting and moving structurefor heavy loads, particularly from military trucks and which is readilymaneuverable within the confined space of the truck.

Still another object is to provide an improved combined lifting andpulling device for unloading a truck of equipment in fast time withoutthe use of expensive fork machines or hydraulic jack apparatus, manuallyor automatically operated. These objects are attained in brief, byproviding a structure with two beams, welded together at their innerends and extending angularly with respect to one another. One beam isformed of two arms of U-shape section, spaced apart to constitutebroadly a fork structure which can enter the lifting slot of a pallet.The other arm constitutes essentially a triangularly shaped bridle ofangle iron brought to a hitching ring for pulling the structure. A largeroller extends across the two arms and carries the weight of the entirestructure. There are also upstanding teethmembers fitted in eachU-shaped arm which can dig into the under surface of the pallet at theposition of the lifting slot when a pulling force is exercised at thehitching ring of the bridle structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I represents a plan view of theimproved unloading device.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device.

FIG. 3 represents a section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a similar section taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows the manner in which the improved lifting and pulling devicecan be used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly toFIGS. 1 and 2, the structure as shown in constituted of elongated beams,broadly indicated at I, 2 in FIG. 2, the adjacent ends of which areintegrally joined as by welding indicated at 3. The beams extend fromone another at an angle, exemplified as about 135 and the low orhorizontal beam 1 is constituted of two parallel spaced arms 4, 5. Theangularly extending beam is formed as a triangularly shaped bridleconstituted of two lengths 6 of single right-angle (FIG. 4) iron, weldedto a brace member 7 which spans the arms 4, 5 and is secured thereto. Aflat plate member 8 is welded at one end to the brace member 7 andextends in a median direction to the junction of the two lengths 6. Thismember is welded to these lengths so as to provide a point of attachmentfor a triangularly shaped ring 9. The arms 4 of the lower beam areconstituted of U-shaped angle iron (FIG. 3) so that both the beams areextremely rigid. The arms 6 are connected to the arms 4, 5 at positionsso as to leave a knob 10, the purpose of which will be explainedhereinafter. Within the spaced legs of each angle iron member 4, 5 thereare three or more equidistantly spaced square studs 11 of metal, wedgedb between and welded to said legs. Each stud terminates at the top in aslanting surface, similar to that of ratchet teeth and which extend ashort distance above the upper edges of the angle iron members. Thepurpose of these teeth will also be explained hereinafter. Each member4, 5 is provided with a round bearing 12 fitted between the legs andpositioned near the position where the two sets of beams l, 2 are joinedtogether. The two bearing members I12 have openings at the center forrotatably receiving a shaft 13 on which is mounted a large roller 14,the periphery of which extends below the arms 4, 5 and is free to turnbetween the arms. The entire unloading device is therefore movablehorizontally by hand on the roller. We have obtained good results byemploying a roller of about 4 inches in diameter spanning the arms 4, 5and the latter has a 2-inch web and 2-inch legs. The arms are spacedabout l8 inches apart and are about 2 feet long. The beam or triangularbridle member has a length of approximately 20 inches as measured alongthe median plate 8 and such beam is conveniently formed of Z-inch angleiron.

OPERATION Assume that a loaded truck is backed up against the receivingor supply platform of a warehouse with its rear end open. The loadusually consists of a large number of cartons 15 of the type shown inFIG. 5. Each carton is usually protected by a plastic covering, held bymetal straps 16. The cartons are each supported on pallets 17 of wood,made in any well-known and suitable manner, and each being provided witha slot 18 extending from one end to the other and from one side to theother side of the pallet. The height and width of the slot 18 are ofstandard lifting fork size, a few inches above the floor. An operatorcan pull down on the beam 2 sufliciently to raise the arms 4, 5 to ahorizontal position with the aid of the roller, as shown in FIG. 2. Itwas then rolled to a position such that the arms 4, 5 readily enter oneof the available slots in the nearest pallet and are moved into the slotto the full length of each arm. A vehicle 19 which may be electricallyor gasoline driven having a short chain 20 extending from the rear endof the vehicle and hitched to the loop 9. As shown, the chain 20 shouldassume a relatively horizontal position so that the pull by the vehicle19 will move the entire unloading device in the horizontal direction. Asthe vehicle moves forward, i.e., toward the open end of the truck, therewill be a tendency for then beam 1 to swing about the roller in thevertical direction, and this slight but sudden upward movement of thearms 4, 5 would cause the teeth to dig into the pallet at the uppermostsurface of the slot. This upward movement of the teeth would be inaddition to the tooth entry brought about by the weight of the load.Thus, the latter is securely held onto the lifting structure. Should theknob 10 touch the fioor during the moving operation, this would serve asan indication that the arms 4, 5 and supported load are at a precariousangle and should be lowered. This can be accomplished by changing theposi tion where the load is attached to the vehicle. The pallet and itsload can be moved quickly from the truck to any assigned position on theplatform or taken a greater distance within the warehouse. Unless theteeth on the studs 11 have entered the pallet too far, the latter can bedragged off the arms 4, 5 at the destination without difficulty and inany case the fork of a regular forklift machine may be inserted into aslot not occupied by the arms 4, 5 and thus disengage the teeth from thepallet.

It is apparent that we have disclosed an inexpensive lifting andwheeling device for handling heavy equipment standing on the floor of atruck or about to be loaded on a truck. The improved device can be movedinto position by hand to place the arms 4, 5 in a lifting slot of thepallet so that the device is readily maneuverable in the confined spacewithin the truck. The moving force exerted on the loading and unloadingapparatus can be an inexpensive machine, completely devoid of a liftingaccessory since the device provides its own lifting function. Moreover,the operator of the pulling machine, can face the direction in which heis pulling the heavy load which adds to the safety of the operation.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for lifting and moving a load carried on a pallet having alifting slot therein; said apparatus comprising two composite beammembers; each of said beam members having a pair of arms joined insubstantial end-to-end relation with corresponding arms of each of thecomposite beam members being joined together and extending angularlywith respect to one another and the other corresponding arms of thecomposite beam members being spaced apart in parallel relation to eachother; said angularly extending arms being constituted of right-angleirons, means for temporarily holding the pallet on the parallelextending arms when they are inserted into the pallet slot; a rollermember journaled in said parallel extending arms spanning them at aposition near the junction of the angularly extending arms and theparallel extending arms with the roller member having a diameter suchthat its periphery extends below the lower surface of the parallelextending arms, the angularly extending anns having an attachment ringat the free end for receiving a pull cable which is adapted to move theapparatus on its roller support; said arms being constituted of U-shapedangle iron and said means for holding the pallet on said arms beingconstituted of studs positioned along the legs of the U-shaped ironmembers and terminate above the upper edge of the members in teethlikeprojections that dig into the pallet when the arms are inserted in saidslot.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 and in which the single right-angleiron beams are welded on top of the U-shaped iron beams to leave a knobwhich in effect extends below the lower surface of the right-angle ironbeams.

1. Apparatus for lifting and moving a load carried on a pallet having alifting slot therein; said apparatus comprising two composite beammembers; each of said beam members having a pair of arms joined insubstantial end-to-end relation with corresponding arms of each of thecomposite beam members being joined together and extending angularlywith respect to one another and the other corresponding arms of thecomposite beam members being spaced apart in parallel relation to eachother; said angularly extending arms being constituted of right-angleirons, means for temporarily holding the pallet on the parallelextending arms when they are inserted into the pallet slot; a rollermember journaled in said parallel extending arms spanning them at aposition near the junction of the angularly extending arms and theparallel extending arms with the roller member having a diameter suchthat its periphery extends below the lower surface of the parallelextending arms, the angularly extending arms having an attachment ringat the free end for receiving a pull cable which is adapted to move theapparatus on its roller support; said arms being constituted of U-shapedangle iron and said means for holding the pallet on said arms beingconstituted of studs positioned along tHe legs of the U-shaped ironmembers and terminate above the upper edge of the members in teethlikeprojections that dig into the pallet when the arms are inserted in saidslot.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 and in which the singleright-angle iron beams are welded on top of the U-shaped iron beams toleave a knob which in effect extends below the lower surface of theright-angle iron beams.